


Welcome to the family

by Seven_Oomen



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Accidental Baby Acquisition, Alpha Peter Hale, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Cora Hale & Stiles Stilinski Friendship, Domestic Fluff, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Idiots in Love, M/M, Malia and Stiles and Cora and Derek all band together, Mutual Pining, No beta we die like the quality of the show after 3b, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Peter Hale adopts all the teenagers, Peter Hale goes to therapy, Peter Hale is a Little Shit, Peter Hale is a Softie, Protective Peter Hale, Romantic Comedy, Sassy Peter Hale, Self-Indulgent, Sheriff Stilinski Finds Out About Werewolves, Sheriff Stilinski adopts all the teenagers, Sheriff Stilinski's Name is Noah, Stiles Stilinski is Part of the Hale Pack, all the cliches you can think of, and vacuum cleaners, both for romance and for werewolves, did I mention this is gonna be a romantic comedy?, oblivious idiots in love, rewrite of the show, seriously it's gonna get ridiculously cute, somewhere down the road, watch out for the mailman
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-16
Updated: 2021-01-29
Packaged: 2021-03-14 14:48:47
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,916
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28797141
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Seven_Oomen/pseuds/Seven_Oomen
Summary: Peter Hale, a former comatose patient, and Sheriff Noah Stilinski, a single dad of a hyperactive mischievous whirlwind, have had a lot of turmoil and trauma in their lives. Never having the chance to heal or refind love. Peter’s need for revenge and Noah’s need for peace and quiet seem to be polar opposites when it comes to finding their happiness. But shenanigans and circumstances push them together into becoming an Alpha pair for a gaggle of adopted teenagers and an accidentally acquired baby. They only have to overcome their own doubts, insecurities, traumas, and a whole barrage of miscommunication.-By all accounts, this man is supposed to be in a coma. The fact that he is not and that his burns are completely healed is enough to make his head spin. But he’s nothing if not a patient and understanding man. Surely there is a good explanation for this current turn of events. He doesn’t know what that explanation is supposed to be, and Stiles was incredibly unhelpful when he asked about it. But there has to be something.“Care to tell me why you’re not burned or in a coma, Mr. Hale?” He folds his arms across his chest as he looks at the gently smiling younger man opposite him.
Relationships: Peter Hale & Stiles Stilinski, Peter Hale & The Pack, Peter Hale/Sheriff Stilinski, Sheriff Stilinski & Stiles Stilinski, Sheriff Stilinski & The Pack
Comments: 28
Kudos: 115
Collections: Hale Family Collection





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I mostly tagged this E because I want to keep the option for smut open. But especially at the beginning it's probably gonna be more like T to M at best.
> 
> This is basically my excuse to write a ridiculously cute romantic comedy for once with all the cliches I can think of while also rewriting Teen Wolf.  
> It's very self-indulgent. Idk how good this will be but I hope it'll be funny and romantic and at least enjoyable.

-

“Peter... Do you have to be obnoxious at all times or can we just watch the game in peace?” Noah grumbles as he shifts in his seat and begrudgingly lets the wolf cuddle up to him. 

Peter’s head lays down on his shoulder, his wild hair sticking up in all directions and ticking at his jaw. Peter’s always cuddly the night after the full moon, and today is no exception. He usually doesn’t mind too much, it is rather nice to have a cuddle buddy now that Stiles is off to college and is only home for the holidays. He just wishes the wolf wasn’t so obnoxious about it.

“I don’t have to be, I just like to be,” Peter mutters back, he keeps fidgeting and readjusting in his arms. Constantly rubbing against him and distracting him from the game they’re trying to watch.

He suspects it’s actually because Peter’s muscles and joints still ache from his transformation and from running around all night. He doesn’t say as much.

It’s finally enough when the top of Peter’s head bumps against his chin and an elbow finds its way into his stomach. 

“Alright, that’s it.” He wraps his arms around the wolf and gently shifts him in such a way that the wolf is now on top of him. His head tucked under his chin, their legs tangled together, and Peter’s arms clutching to his in order to ground him. A blanket draped over both of them to keep them warm and comfy in the meantime. It’s a little slice of heaven if he’s ever had one and he can’t help but smile down at the man in his arms.

“Better?”

Peter nods and sighs, going limp in his arms as he cuddles into him, an almost purring sound coming from his chest as he dozes off. “Better.”

It’s cute to see Peter’s relaxed face resting against his chest, to hear his soft snores and feel the slight twitches of his body as he dreams in his arms. It’s honestly hard to believe that this level of trust between them only took about a year to fully manifest. He’s not disappointed by it. If anything, he’s extraordinarily proud of this achievement. And it makes him realize just how much has changed.

-

**Beacon Hills Sheriff’s office, 2011**

By all accounts, this man is supposed to be in a coma. The fact that he is not and that his burns are completely healed is enough to make his head spin. But he’s nothing if not a patient and understanding man. Surely there is a good explanation for this current turn of events. He doesn’t know what that explanation is supposed to be, and Stiles was incredibly unhelpful when he asked about it. But there has to be something.

“Care to tell me why you’re not burned or in a coma, Mr. Hale?” He folds his arms across his chest as he looks at the gently smiling younger man opposite him. Hale’s blue eyes are studying him carefully, clearly trying to figure him out and he doesn’t like it one bit. The man is always scheming, it seems, always trying to gain the upper hand in any situation.

Hale’s eyes narrow and he tilts his head just slightly to the left. “New skincare routine?”

“Don’t bullshit me, Hale.” He’s got enough problems to deal with in this county and he doesn’t need a coma patient waking up inexplicably completely healed on top of all of that. But that’s exactly what he got right now.

“You’re smarter than you look.” Hale tries a new tactic on him, which earns him a flat look in return.

He sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose. “Is that a compliment for my intelligence or an insult for my looks?”

At that, Hale’s smile turns genuine for some reason and he leans back in his seat. “Definitely a compliment, you’re quite handsome after all.”

He’s definitely looking at Hale as if he’s just grown another head. A part of him feels flattered but the mental gymnastics Hale is portraying is making his head spin. He flip-flops so much between threatening and flirting that it’s giving him a form of whiplash, he’s pretty sure. 

He’s not sure how to respond and merely raises a well-timed eyebrow in response. It’s always worked for Stiles in the past. It doesn’t seem to work on Peter Hale, however. As the other man just raises an eyebrow of his own. He sighs.

“Alright Hale, How about we just cut the crap. What’s going on?”

Hale’s smile turns almost predatory and the man leans forward in his chair. “You’re not ready for that conversation, sheriff.”

He has a bad feeling about all of this but his interest is awakened. He is briefly reminded of that one incident the night Claudia passed away when a young girl told him with her dying breath of what was to come. And his hesitation must have shown, for Hale straightens up and sobers up, studying him for a moment or two.

“Or maybe you are…” Hale mutters, “Maybe you’ve always been.”

He knows it’s a bad idea when he does it, but something in him tells him that Hale is not going to harm him. He’s safe around the other man for some inexplicable reason. He leans forward, his face inches away from Hale’s. “Ready for what?”

Hale’s eyes settle on his, his head tilting slightly to the right as the corner of his eyes twitch just a little and his lips purse together. Hale releases a slow breath through his nose and his eyes glow a brilliant red. His ears become tipped and his eyebrows and face transform into something he's never witnessed before.

It’s such an unnatural sight that he has to blink rapidly for a minute or two, his brain trying to catch up with what he’s seeing. Nothing seems to click for several moments. He lurches back, frowning at the table between them as he tries to process what he’s just seen.

“That’s not possible.” That’s the only thing that he can think of. The rest is too crazy too-

“Isn’t it?” 

His eyes flick back to a once again normal-looking Hale, his emotions haywire as he tries to catch up. Everything is going through his mind all at once. The disappearances, the murders, all the weird things and people this town has seen in the last decade. Is it all connected? Is this the culmination of everything he’s seen in his career? Is he actually staring at a supernatural being, something he cannot explain by logic or science? Or is it all one big trick?

The problem is, he’s leaning towards the first. And he wants to find out more. 

Judging by the smile on Hale’s face, the bastard knows it too.

“What are you?” 

He’s alone with Hale in the room, it’s late, he knows that. He caught him running around with his son in the warehouse district and without thinking about it, he arrested him. There’s no backup, no cameras in his office. 

“I’m the Alpha.” Is all Hale says in return.

“Alpha of what?” He doesn’t understand, can barely wrap his mind around it. Yet he wants to understand. He wants to understand what Stiles is going through. And why on earth his son didn’t come to him for help.

“A pack of wolves,” Hale sits back and raises an eyebrow, “I thought you were smart, sheriff.”

He chuckles and shakes his head. No. That can’t be true, can it? It’s ridiculous.

_Werewolf. Werewolf. Werewolf._

His brain repeats over and over. He pinches the bridge of his nose and blinks as he tries to wrap his head around it. “That’s-”

“Impossible?” Hale laughs, “Then what are you seeing, sheriff? A trick? An illusion? You can’t tell me you’ve never suspected. You’ve never seen it?”

His blood runs cold at those words. Flashes of the young woman in the ambulance go through his mind, of howling out in the woods, of the young severed woman in the preserve. It shouldn’t make sense, none of it should make sense. And yet somehow-

“Werewolves…” He mutters, but Hale has heard him judging by the fading red eyes and the twitch of his ears, “You’ve always been in Beacon Hills.”

He remembers nights patrolling the reserve as a deputy, hearing the howling of wolves or a coyote in the distance. How he’s always waved it away as coincidence or a trick of the mind. He remembers weird people around the town, but as they never caused trouble he didn’t have reason to approach or arrest them. Little bits and pieces are falling in place and he wishes, almost desperately, that this didn’t make sense to him. That he could go back to denying everything. But he’s staring straight at the evidence of all the madness. He can’t go back.

Several questions remain though.

“Who killed the woman in the woods? Was that you?”

A dark shadow passes over Hale’s features, a deep pain reflected in those blue eyes. Hale’s trying to hide it but he’s failing. He notices the twitching of Hale’s lips, the quiver in his voice, the pain in his eyes.

“No, I didn’t,” Hale looks down at his fingers for a second before blue eyes meet his own, “But I know who did. I know who set us on fire, too.”

He sits up a little straighter, Hale survived that nightmare. He has a witness account of that night and although the accuracy of his statement might be questionable, it is at least worth looking into.

It’s all insane, every single second of this conversation. Not admissible in court at all, but something in him wants to know. He wants to help, to figure out the mystery. He wants to know all of this wasn’t for nothing. And if he’s going down in insanity, he’s going down fully or not at all. Right now the pull of it all is dragging him down into the pits of hell.

He narrows his eyes at the other man and bites his lip, leaning in and tilting his head down. His eyebrows raise just a little. It’s enough to draw another predatory, that just gained a whole new meaning, smile on Hale’s face. “So I do have your attention.”

He sighs and crosses his arms once again. “Who is it? Who killed that girl and set the fire?”

Hale tskkss at him, “And here I thought we had a connection-”

“Don’t,” He interrupts the younger man, or should he think of him as a wolf? There are so many questions. “Just spit it out, I don’t have all night.”

The smile widens. “Like father like son, Stiles is very direct as well.”

His hands clench and his lip curls up at the mention of his son and Hale, of course, notices it all.

“It’s Kate Argent,” Hale says, pausing to study him for a moment, “She set the fire, her men killed my niece.”

It’s such a bizarre answer that it takes him out for a few seconds. And he asks the first question that comes to mind. “Why? What’s her motive?”

“She hunts. It’s what they do. What all the Argents do.” Hale sneers, his eyes glowing red for a second or two. But there’s also that pain, and the barest twitches of grief and something else that he can only describe as agony. He knows that look. Knows how traumatized by loss one has to be to bear it.

“You were hunted because you’re werewolves…” Somehow that makes sense but there’s no way in hell that he’s ever going to be able to take that to court. There’s no way he can explain that to any judge. No way to do this within the bounds of the law. And he has to face a terrible decision. Does he continue going down the rabbit hole? Or is he writing all of this off as a crazed man’s hallucination? It wouldn’t be hard, after all, to have Hale declared insane and lock him up. Considering what he went through it wouldn’t take much for a judge to declare him mentally unfit. And yet-

“Do you see our dilemma? We can’t operate within the law, sheriff. Not when the motives for hate crimes committed against us can’t be prosecuted by law.”

If what Hale is saying is the truth, and that is a big ass if, then that means that justice hasn’t been served yet. The one reason why he joined the Army and later the Force was to make sure justice was served in all forms. For anyone. And if a murderer and arsonist is walking around…

“Hmmm,” He closes his eyes with a sigh and pinches the bridge of his nose. When he opens them Hale is looking at him with a shit-eating grin that’s endearing, infuriating, and terrifying all at the same time. He decides at that moment that Hale’s next answer will determine both of their fates. “What do you need my son for then? If all you care about is to make sure justice is served, why rely on teenagers?”

Hale goes quiet at that, his eyes cast down and his face relaxes into one filled with sadness and grief. He hears the man swallow heavily, a soft chuckle escaping the wolf as he looks down at his hands. “I didn’t mean to. I didn’t mean for anything like this to happen. They weren’t supposed to know. Him or Scott.”

At his confusion and continued silence, Hale sighs, “I bit Scott that night in the woods when you found half of Laura’s body. I bit him and turned him into one of my kind. Stiles-” 

He lets out a sad chuckle, “-Stiles was pulled into it when Scott started turning and transforming. He’s been helping Scott deal. And they’ve been trying-”

Hale looks down at his fingers again and smiles sadly.”-They’ve been trying to stop me from getting my revenge. So I thought if I explained, If I showed them…”

He’s not sure if he should believe this. Hale might just be an excellent actor and trying to play him. Actually, he’s pretty sure that’s exactly what Hale is trying to pull. And yet- There seems to be a level of truth to Hale’s story. It’s too stupid and chaotic not to be real. 

He roped a bunch of teenagers into his scheming plans because of an accidental convenience, and considering those teenagers were Scott and Stiles, two of the most chaotic teenage boys in Beacon Hills, he succeeded without the boys alerting a parent or authority figure. He needs to have a serious conversation with his son about all of this.

“They would stop trying to get in your way.” He barely believes what he’s hearing but somehow it doesn’t surprise him. Hale has always been a little shit from what he can recall.

“They would understand what I went through, what I lost.” Hale corrects him.

He nods in understanding, smiling as the true meaning of those words comes through to him. “They wouldn’t let you kill people, would they.”

Hale smirks at that and nods to him. “None whatsoever.”

A silent understanding passes between them. They understand instinctively that they are at an impasse. That Hale won’t stop unless he’s gotten his revenge. Which is understandable and something he begrudgingly respects on a molecular level. But he’s also the sheriff, and he can’t risk the safety of the constituents and residents that rely on him for his protection. Hale knows that too.

“I’ll help you bring Kate Argent to justice if you stop killing people in my county and don’t drag my son or Scott into it.” It’s the best compromise he can give at the time and Hale knows it too.

He feels like he’s signing away his soul and integrity to the devil himself, but he’ll do anything to keep as many people as he can safe. Considering Hale is a werewolf and possibly a strong ally or enemy, working with him seems to be the better option for everyone.

Hale’s eyes narrow but he nods in agreement. “Fair enough, sheriff. You have a deal.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I should not edit things between 11 pm and midnight, lol. But I really wanted to get this chapter out. I'm pretty happy with how this turned out and with the comedy in it. I think it's good.

“You have got to be kidding me?!” 

He knew Stiles wouldn’t take the news well but he didn’t expect his teenager to completely blow his casket. A mistake he would not make again.

“Unfortunately not. I promised him I would help him.” He sighs as Stiles gapes at him.

“Dad, he murders people.” Stiles deadpans as his eyes flick to where Hale is seated in the backseat of the sheriff’s cruiser.

There is no good way to explain this recent development so he just shrugs and tries not to look at his son as he mutters; “He’s murdered five people.”

Stiles looks at him as if he’s just set Noodle, his favorite stuffed snake, on fire. The fact that Hale smiles and waves at him probably doesn’t help matters either. “That’s five people too many!”

“It could have been five more people. And I’m trying to keep him from doing that.” It’s a shitty explanation and he’s not exactly happy about everything that’s happened in his county already. But if this is the best way to prevent a pack of werewolves from murdering more people, then he has to make due. As much as he hates it. 

“Dad, you have no idea-” Stiles starts but he holds up a hand to interrupt him.

“-What he’s capable of?” He purses his lips and sighs, “Considering he’s a werewolf… I think I have a pretty good idea.”

Stiles just sighs. “No dad, I really mean-” His words seem to catch up with Stiles then because his son’s jaw falls open and his eyes widen almost comically. “-Wait what? You  _**know** _ ??”

He merely raises an eyebrow at his son and shrugs. “People talk, Stiles. Especially adults,” He then tilts his head to the right and purses his lips, “And well, he shifted in front of me to prove it all, so… kind of hard to deny it after that.”

Stiles blinks a few times, his mouth opens in a silent ‘O’ but he seems to catch on to his dilemma quickly. “It’s because of that that you haven’t arrested him yet, right? Because how do you prosecute a werewolf with super strength?”

He almost smiles and his face does soften for a brief moment but he carefully schools it back into indifference. “I was thinking I can’t prosecute any of this because I can’t give clear motive aside from revenge for killing his family. But then we’d need their motive which was werewolf. And well-”

At that Stiles nods and shakes his head in agreement. “Yeah, yeah that would be hard to explain.”

He hums in agreement. “Now you want to tell me why you and Scott went along with a man old enough to be your father doing god knows what without alerting your actual parents? I am the  **sheriff** , Stiles. I’ve heard some wild shit in my years.”

Stiles seems at a loss for words for a few seconds. “Well I didn’t think you’d take it this well, and well, I don’t want you to get hurt. I mean, a drunk guy is one thing, a werewolf…”

All he has to do is raise a single eyebrow and Stiles’s words taper off into a shrug. “Stiles I deal with murderers, rapists, child abusers, and crazy Carl who still thinks Aliens are among us to eat our brains, on a daily basis. Do you honestly think I couldn’t handle werewolves?”

“When you put it that way…” Stiles mutters.

He uncrosses his arms and draws his son in for a hug. “Exactly. Now, how about you get in the car so I can drop you off at home. Because you’re grounded.”

Stiles tries to protest. “But-”

One look later and Stiles gets in the passenger seat of the cruiser without much fuss. Though it doesn’t stop him from glaring daggers at the wolf in the back. Peter, for his part, looks rather amused.

“Hello, Stiles.”

-

Half an hour later they’re all eating Arby’s while parked in the parking lot and Hale is making obscene noises as he drinks his strawberry milkshake. 

He thoroughly regrets everything he’s done in the last twenty-four hours that led to this moment. No matter how delicious curly fries are, it’s not worth it if he has to put up with a pouting teenager and a horny werewolf.

“Do you have to slurp it like that?” Stiles finally snaps after a few minutes of the obscene noises.

“It brings all the boys to the yard,” Hale smirks, looking straight at the rear-view mirror so their eyes meet indirectly. He instantly wants to punch the wolf or at least handcuff him to the bar below his feet so he has to sleep in the cruiser for the night.

“Probably to punch you in the face for making those noises.” He mutters, stuffing another handful of curly fries into his mouth

“I hate him…” Stiles agrees softly, sneering at the wolf behind them.

One look in the rear-view mirror reveals a rather amused Hale, though there is a twitch of genuine sadness and hurt that very briefly passes over his face. “That hurts, Stiles. I like you, you’re a good kid.”

“Oh no that’s not creepy at all-” Stiles bitches back and he can’t help but turn around and raise an eyebrow at Hale in the back.

“Really?”

Hale just slurps his milkshake and shrugs. “Being kind is not a crime.”

He hums, his brows knitting together. “Being creepy to an underage teenager is. Can it a little.”

Hale shuts up after that and continues his meal in silence. Thankfully Stiles doesn’t try to bait him either.

-

By the time they pull up to the house, there’s already a bike outside and a hyperactive Scott is standing near their front door, trying to look through the windows. Probably looking for Stiles.

He checks the child locks on the doors in the back, notices they’re still firmly locked, and gets out of the car to meet up with the teen.

“Scott, what are you doing?” He sighs softly as he walks up to the jumpy young werewolf, trying not to react as Stiles leaves his passenger seat to jog up to them.

“Oh, uh, hey Sheriff. I was actually looking for Stiles because of uhm- lacrosse practice.” Scott fidgets and tries to avoid his eyes which tells him this is probably about the man currently locked in the back of the cruiser.

“Really?” He hums softly.

“Scott! Scott!” Stiles tries to either violently signal Scott or he’s trying to guide helicopters to land on the lawn, judging by the wild flailing arms it could be either of them.

“Uh” Scott’s looking at Stiles now and his confusion is almost palpable in the air. The poor kid barely knows how to keep his marbles together on a good day and today is clearly one of those days where nothing goes his way. He feels sorry for Scott, really. Being turned against your will and having to adjust to all of this, while also trying to be a teenager cannot be easy. Best to help him a little.

“And it has nothing to do with werewolves, particularly mister Hale?” He gestures to the back of the cruiser where a glaring Peter Hale is now pointing to the door handle.

“You know about werewolves?” Scott’s voice squeaks a little as puberty strikes again but the boy valiantly fights through it by clearing his throat. 

“I’ve been caught up to speed. Now, I don’t have time for either of you causing trouble and Stiles has already been grounded. So unless you want the same treatment, I suggest you get home Scott.”

“But-” The teen tries to protest, but he simply picks up Scott’s bike and hands it to the teen while gently guiding him to the road with one hand on his shoulder.

“You should get home, get some rest. Let me handle this. You do that for me, and I won’t call your mother to tell her you and Stiles have been running off with a forty-year-old man.”

“Okay I know it sounds terrible when you say it that way-” Scott tries, though one look has the teen looking back down at his shoes “It does sound rather terrible.”

“Yes it does,” He agrees, gently pushing Scott ahead while catching a protesting Stiles by the back of his neck, “So go home and leave it to me. The  **sheriff** of this town.”

“But dad-” Stiles tries to interrupt them and he quickly looks from Stiles to where Peter is still glaring through the car window and back to Stiles. 

“But what, Stiles?”

Stiles looks at Scott, who just shrugs at him and looks a little defeated and even relieved, and then back at him with a sigh. “-But nothing dad. I’m sure it’s all gonna be okay.”

He makes sure Scott gets on his bike safely and watches him ride off for a short moment before turning back to his son. “It will be, son. You don’t need to worry about that anymore. Just trust me.”

He gently wraps his arms around Stiles in a warm hug and holds him close for several moments, just breathing in his son’s scent. He leans back and ruffles Stiles’s short hair much to the teenager’s protests. “Now go upstairs and do your homework. I have to talk to our ‘guest’ for a moment.”

He makes sure Stiles is up in his room and has homework in front of him before he goes back out to the cruiser. An annoyed looking Hale is sitting in the back. Though sitting is perhaps a generous word, as Hale is draped across the backseat with one leg up over the headrests and one leg down on the floor while his head rests against the locked door. The werewolf rolls his eyes and raises an eyebrow as he opens the driver’s door and looks at him.

“Are you going to behave and be a good boy when I let you out?”

Maybe the dog joke is a bit low but how can he not rile Hale up just a little? Considering everything Hale has done in the last few days, including murdering five people, it’s only fair that he gets to tease him. After all, he’s not arresting him.

“Really? Dog jokes, sheriff?” Hale just looks bored, though his nose twitches just a little. As if he’s an overgrown German Shepherd with an attitude problem, “Come on, you’re better than that.”

He purses his lips, narrows his eyes, and tilts his head just a little. “Guess there’s no belly rubs for you then.” 

Hale shoots him a look that clearly says;  _fuck off_ and pretends to smile at him. “Ha. Ha.”

He sighs and straddles the driver’s seat as best as he can while looking at the werewolf. “Come on Hale, throw me a bone here and work with me.”

“I see where Stiles gets his attitude from,” Hale growls back at him, “You realize I could’ve ripped that door open at any time?”

He knows that, he knows Hale knows it. But he also knows that Hale needs help with this. That he can’t go after Kate Argent on his own. “I know that and I know you know. But I also know that you know that you won’t get anything done if you get on my bad side. So how about it? We let sleeping dogs lie and just get some sleep without murdering anyone. And then we can plan one last murder before we get you into therapy and my county back to its peaceful self.”

Hale thinks on his proposition for a minute, then shrugs and sighs in defeat. “Fine. But I’m sleeping in a bed.”

That is a bit of a problem since he doesn’t have a guest room and even if he had one, he wouldn’t trust Hale to stay in it during the night. He does have an alternative, kind of. “I have a camping bed you can sleep on.”

Hale stares at him as if he’s grown two heads. “Are you absolutely out of your mind? Have you seen this face? It doesn’t stay that pretty because I’m sleep deprived.”

He raises an eyebrow at the wolf and leans forward until his forehead is resting against the metal roster that separates them. “You’re not sleeping in my bed.”

The way Peter grins at him tells him that he’s lost the battle already.

By the time he gets Hale settled upstairs, and Stiles off to bed, he’s exhausted and just about ready to end the day. He walks into his own bedroom to find Hale shifting through his closet with a clear look of dismay on his face. 

“How can you wear any of this? Do you have  _any_ taste whatsoever?”

Normally, he’d answer with a witty comeback of his own but Hale is wearing one of his dark blue plaid, flannel pajama bottoms that’s a size too big for him judging by the bunched up legs and an old faded black Metalica shirt that’s also slightly too big due to their differences in height, and it’s extraordinarily distracting.

“As much as I enjoy the attention, my eyes are up here sheriff.” Hale snaps as he turns to look at him.

He has to blink a few times as his gaze roams back up quickly. “Why are you wearing my-”

“I don’t have anything else to wear now do I?” Hale gives him a rather pointed look, “And this was the least offensive sleeping outfit I could find. Judging by the rest of your clothes I’m surprised you have anything half-way decent in here.”

He doesn’t think it’s that bad and merely shrugs. “Does it matter? It’s just clothes. And they are perfectly respectable for someone my age.”

Hale lets out a long-suffering sigh and holds up one of his favorite flannel plaid shirts. “You’re not dead just yet. And everyone  _**needs** _ a good wardrobe. Clothes make a man, sheriff. Naked people have little or no influence on society. Nor do those who are dressed like the dead.”

He finds himself smiling despite the insult and can’t help but feel just a little intrigued by Hale’s words. “Did you just quote Mark Twain at me?”

At that, Peter gives him a genuine smile. “More or less, the phrase is often contributed to him though the only evidence we have of him saying it is posthumously. But I am impressed that you know that.”

“I’ll take it as a compliment.” He sighs as he takes off his tie and strips himself of the rest of his clothes. 

Years in the army have made him more or less immune to undressing in front of other men and it doesn’t bother him at all to have Hale staring at his back. He strips down to his black boxer briefs and his blue socks with coconuts on them. Laying his clothes out over the chair in the corner of his room before he heads back to his closet and picks out a pair of gray plaid flannel pajama bottoms and a faded blue Beacon Hills PD shirt.

Hale just stares at him for several moments and it gets quite uncomfortable after several minutes have passed. 

He finally snaps. “What?”

It’s Hale’s turn to blink, though he noticed the way Hale was ogling the rest of his body without any shame whatsoever. It’s kind of flattering in a way, but he also just wants to go to sleep and have this day be over with.

Hale finally snaps back to reality with a rather offended look at his socks. “Those are the ugliest fucking socks I’ve ever seen.”

That statement almost amuses him and yet he can’t help but rile up the werewolf a little more. “You’re more than welcome to sleep on the floor if you disagree with them that much.”

He climbs into his bed and scoots over to one side to allow Hale to climb in next to him. He should care about having a werewolf in his bed. He should care about having a killer in his bed. And yet, in a way, isn’t he just as much of a monster as the man he’s allowing to sleep next to him? The atrocities he committed while in service of his country, the lives he’s taken in the past. 

He tries to make up for what he’s done by protecting the lives of those that reside in his county now but it still doesn’t feel like he’s doing enough. It doesn’t wash the blood off his hands and he doubts anything ever will.

But maybe, just maybe he can make sure Hale doesn’t go down that road himself. If he keeps the wolf close and gets him help, he might just prevent further bloodshed down the line. And that’s a comforting thought.

He feels the other side of the king-sized bed dip a little as Hale climbs in and settles down. It’s almost comforting to have another living being sleeping beside him for a night. There hasn’t been one since-

He shakes his head and briefly looks over his shoulder to see Hale’s back turned to him. “Good night, Hale.”

Hale doesn’t say anything at first, not even when he kills the light. Though as he drifts off to sleep he swears he hears a soft; “Good night, sheriff,” in return. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I hope this was funny and cute with just a few splashes of angst. Because that's what I was going for. Let me know if you liked it and what you thought of this so far, would love to hear from you!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter took me a bit longer to write than I'd like. I think I got distracted by the plot for a bit and this story will probably be a few chapters longer than I anticipated because of it. Next chapter we will be picking up Derek and figure out how to take Kate down and wrap S1, so that chapter might also be a bit longer than the previous chapters. From that point we will start tackling S2 in this Universe, the pack will get bigger and we'll catch up with the start of the story where the accidental baby acquisition comes into play. For now, enjoy the chapter. I hope it's okay.
> 
> There's some violence against Peter in this chapter, it is earned by his actions, but I figured it's a good thing to mention at the start of this chapter.

At the crack of dawn, somewhere around 7 am he’s awoken by an incredible warmth next to him. It’s not quite enveloping him, but it’s certainly a lot closer than it was when he fell asleep last night. A quick look reveals that it’s a lightly snoring Peter Hale that woke him up. The werewolf is curled in on himself and snuggled next to him. Not quite touching him but close enough that he would be able to benefit from Noah’s own body heat.

It’s honestly rather adorable to watch him sleep. A cute little murder puppy. He chuckles at his own thoughts and checks his phone on the nightstand to see if he’s got any missed calls or messages. He wasn’t on call last night but as sheriff sometimes he does get some. There are none yet, though they are sure to come. He’s certain about that.

Hale stirs next to him and stretches out like a cat in the warm sun, yawning lazily as he does. He looks up at him and freezes for a hot second before smirking. “Good morning.”

It doesn’t escape his attention that despite their closeness, Hale’s not touching him. Is it because of what he went through? Phantom pain from the burned skin? He cocks his head to the left and smiles politely in return as Hale lets out another yawn. “Good morning.”

To his credit, Hale doesn’t move away and just lays next to him. His eyes narrow, his head tilts slightly and his brow furrows as he studies Noah for a hot second or two. He’s analyzing everything about him and his surroundings. He lets out a sigh moments later and relaxes back into the soft mattress. 

He’s not sure what just happened, but he considers it a major win that Hale didn’t try to kill him or anyone else and is practically falling asleep next to him. It’s a small victory that feels earned to him. So he smiles in return and relaxes too.

They’re not touching as they doze, but there’s a silent comradery while they lay together in one bed. It’s peaceful.

Peace, however, never lasts very long. 

“Dad! Dad! I had a horrible dream where-” Stiles storms into his bedroom, stopping in the door frame to gawk at them for a second.

“Really?! Dad!”

He feels like a teenager who got caught sleeping with his boyfriend by his parents, even though nothing actually happened between them. “I couldn’t let him sleep on the floor…”

Hale actually chuckles at his answer, to his surprise the wolf didn’t move away from him and is simply staring at Stiles curiously. As if he’s once again analyzing every single interaction around him.

“Please tell me both of you are wearing clothes…” Stiles moans, “Actually- no, I don’t want to know.”

“We’re both wearing clothes,” He sighs softly and beckons Stiles over. He turns to Hale for a second. “Scoot.” 

It’s the only warning he gives as he slowly slides towards him to make some room for his son. Stiles, to his credit, does sit down onto the bed right next to him but keeps a close eye on Peter nonetheless. Hale slides with him but stays close for some reason and he can’t help but wonder why. Stiles distracts him soon enough.

“You really do know about werewolves and everything that’s been going on.” It’s not a question Stiles wants an answer to, judging by the tone of his voice. So he merely smiles and nods, gently ruffling his son’s dark hair before resting his hand on the back of his son’s head.

Stiles nods in return and silently moves down to curl up in his arms, just like he used to when he was a young child and everything was just too much for him to handle. He wraps his arms around his son and just holds him, pressing a soft kiss to the top of Stiles’s head as his teenager cuddles up to him and holds him close. 

He feels Peter shifting behind him and feels warmth radiating at his back. He’s not touching them but he’s close and his energy feels… calm and soothed. It’s hard to explain but he’s always had a knack for feeling the energies of people around him. Like a sixth sense or as some might say an empathic ability. Personally, he thinks it’s just an ADHD thing. He’s just more sensitive to all the input and stimuli around him. Like Stiles.

“Does it help?” Stiles’s voice is muffled by his own body as he speaks into his chest but still understandable. 

He’s not sure of what the teen means though. “Hmmm?”

“No I meant for him,” Stiles nods, clearly towards Peter, “Does this help?”

He feels Hale breathe in sharply and then the mattress moves as he nods. “Soothes the wolf, having-” He let’s out a shaky breath, “-having a pack. Kind of.”

Stiles hums and cuddles closer to him, something that he hasn’t done in months so he’s not going to complain. “So no murder tendencies?” Stiles asks.

“Stiles!” He gently reprimands the teen, though the slight chuckle in his voice betrays his amusement.

Hale laughs softly and shakes his head. “Not yet. I’ll let you know when they come up.”

Stiles nods along and he can’t help but raise an eyebrow at the weird ongoing vibe between his son and the man sleeping behind him. Just how long have those two been hanging out? Was that the weirdest question he had? It was definitely the most pressing.

“Great…” Stiles mutters after a moment of silence.

Before he can even open his mouth to respond his phone rings, blasting the sound of his generic ring tone throughout the room, much to the chagrin of his son and Hale. He quickly reaches over and picks up with well-practiced ease of working around a child in his arms and answers the phone.

“Sheriff Stilinski.” 

The voice of Melissa McCall comes from the other end of the line. “Sheriff, we have a missing coma patient on our hands.”

-

He has Melissa meet them down at the station for her statement. Out of desperation he even takes Peter and Stiles with him, not trusting either of them to hold down the fort on their own. He locks Peter in his office along with Stiles to keep an eye on him. Figuring that they will be fine on their own for a few minutes. 

In hindsight. That is an oversight. One he will not repeat any time soon.

He welcomes Melissa when she walks in and leads her into an interrogation room quickly. Figuring it’s best to do this quickly and quietly.

He should have known she’d see through him in minutes.

“What’s going on, sheriff?” She sits down in one of the chairs and crosses her arms.

He feels like he’s the one being called in for some reason. It has to be the way she’s looking at him. Calculating, almost glaring. The mom stare as he affectionately dubbed it years ago.

“What do you mean?” He pretends he doesn’t know what she’s talking about, but it’s clear that the jig is already up.

“Come on, Noah. I’m not stupid. You asked me specifically, someone who doesn’t work in the long term care unit, to come in at the end of my night shift, to talk about a missing patient. Something you should be asking his nurses at the hospital. It doesn’t make any sense to call me in.”

That sounds… extremely logical and he should have known that question was coming. He sighs softly. “Right, It’s- it’s complicated.”

She gives him a look that clearly says;  _spit it out already_ .

“Have you ever seen something that you can’t quite explain and you don’t know how to handle that?” 

Another look is sent his way. “You mean like seeing an empty bed where there should be a comatose patient?”

He doesn’t really know how to answer that so he just nods. “Yeah kinda like that. But more,” He pauses, “supernatural.”

“Such as?” For a brief second, he thinks he sees something akin to recognition in her eyes but it’s gone within the blink of an eye.

He chuckles at the absurdity of it all. “I know this will sound insane-” He starts, closing his eyes for a brief moment, “-but I swear it’s the truth.”

Melissa stills and holds her breath her hands balling into fists on the interrogation table. “What did you see, Noah?”

“Peter Hale is a werewolf.” He blurts it out quickly and awaits her reaction. Seconds pass between them, neither of them moves.

Then, Melissa belts out a laugh as she stares at him in disbelief. “He’s a werewolf? Noah… I think you’ve been sleep deprived for a few days too long. When did you get some decent sleep?”

He closes his eyes and pinches the bridge of his nose with a sigh. “No, it’s not- It’s real. I know that’s real because his face transformed and his eyes turned red.”

“And he started howling at the moon?” Melissa’s looking at him like she’s looking at a toddler who’s telling her wild stories. He knows that look because it was solely reserved for Stiles and Scott until today.

“I know what it sounds like.” He starts. Melissa holds up one finger in his direction, her eyes never leaving his as her look slowly changes from a kind and scolding to one far more serious and grave.

“No you don’t,” Melissa shakes her head and slowly rises from her seat to sit on the table. “Because if Peter Hale is a werewolf then there are those that would try to kill him-” Her voice drops into a whisper “-And those kinds of people, are already in Beacon Hills. They’re at school with Stiles and Scott, they’re in our town. And they will stop at nothing to finish their botched up job. So if I were you, Noah, I would distance myself from Peter Hale, write him off as a missing person, possibly kidnapped for his money, or even deceased, and stay very far away from all of this.”

He stares at her in disbelief for a few seconds and then the weight of her words fully sinks in. “You know about them, don’t you? The Hales, the fire, the Argents…”

“I’ve left that life a long time ago. Even before I met you and Claudia,” Melissa takes a deep breath, “And if you’re the smart man that I know you are, you will turn away from it too.”

He doesn’t look at her and looks down at his hands for a moment. “I’m afraid-”

“-You brought him here, didn’t you?” Melissa interrupts him.

He can’t really meet her eye on that one, so he just nods curtly. She sighs. 

Her eyes soften and he feels her hand settle on his shoulder. “Noah.”

“His family was murdered, Mel. Under my watch.” He gently laid his hand on top of hers and closes his eyes. “Least I can do is bring the one responsible to justice, if only for everything to go back to normal.”

Mel shrugs, “What is normal for this town?” She mutters, then smiles, “Don’t say I don’t do anything for you.”

He feels some of the tension drain away from his body, from Mel, and the room around them and wraps his arms around his friend in a warm hug. “Thank you for not declaring me insane.”

Melissa laughs warmly at his words and gently cups his cheek. “You’re insane alright, but that’s right on par for this town.”

-

The moment he steps into his office with Mel in tow, they step into chaos. The two identically dressed delinquents known as Peter Hale and Stiles Stilinski are staring at them with wide eyes, papers in Peter’s hands and strewn across his desk, while Stiles is trying to wrestle said papers from the werewolf. Both of them are wearing one of Noah’s old red plaid flannel shirts, white t-shirts, and jeans. Peter’s are a bit baggy around the ankles.

A paper flies up and hits him square in the face. A long-suffering sigh is his answer as he picks it off his face and holds it. 

Melissa just laughs at him, not even bothering to try and cover it up. “Looks like you’re in a bit of a bind.”

Peter and Stiles just quickly point at one another with a “he did it” and suddenly he sees just why Stiles didn’t come to him. Stiles and Peter are very much alike. Too smart, too sassy, and too impulsive for their own good. 

“No, I didn’t! I was trying to stop you!” Stiles exclaims, grabbing the remaining papers out of Hale’s hands.

“Which is why you opened that drawer for me with the key your father is hiding under that statue on his desk that he doesn’t know you know about?” Hale sasses back, and dear god he just wants to drive straight home and hide for the rest of his life.

Judging by the look on Mel’s face, she’s never gonna let him live this down.

He simply holds up a hand as the two delinquents start bickering again. “Enough,” And thankfully it’s authoritative enough that both of them quiet down and stare at him curiously, “Whatever this is, I don’t want to hear it. I don’t want to know. I only want to solve this case, so he’s-” He points to Hale, “-out of our hair and this county is peaceful again.”

Hale’s eyebrows raise to his hairline but before the wolf can comment, Mel completely obliterates him in just a few words. “Beacon Hills was never peaceful, to begin with.”

“Delgado’s not wrong,” Hale says, earning a rather shocked look from Stiles.

“Wait-” His son’s eyes are flicking from Mel to Hale and back.

“It’s McCall now, Hale.” Mel corrects him.

Peter’s head tilts to the left. “Married?”

“Changed my name when I went to college.” 

“Huh…” The wheels in the wolf’s head seem to be turning. “Well shit.”

Mel’s eyes narrow at that. “What is that supposed to mean?”

“Oh my god, you two know each other…” Stiles blurts out.

He sees it coming and he tries to intervene but his son’s mouth runs faster than he can handle. 

“He bit Scott and now Scott’s a werewolf.” Stiles points at Peter, whose eyes flash briefly red from the sudden distress.

“He what?!” Mel’s tone is so cold and dark that it makes him flinch in a reflex. 

Within two seconds Mel crosses the distance between her and Hale, grabs the offending statue from his desk, dives under Peter’s clawed hand, whacks him in the face, breaks his nose and leaving a gash in his forehead, and works him against the desk until Hale is growling at her while she holds him down.

It happens so fast and so coordinated that it takes him another two seconds to orient himself and intervene.

Mel’s not intimidated in the slightest and growls back at Hale. “I should kill you for that, you fucking-” 

He separates the two by physically picking Mel up. 

“-Noah put me down!” She hisses at him but she doesn’t try to free herself from his grasp. Judging by what he’s just seen from her, probably not to hurt him.

Hale slowly straightens himself and wipes the blood from his forehead and nose, his wounds already healing rapidly. “I didn’t mean to. He was at the wrong place, at the wrong time. His turning was an accident.”

Mel chuckles in response, the sound dark and disbelieving, she shakes her head. “And I’m supposed to believe that?”

“Considering it’s the truth… yes?”

He quickly steps between the two and holds up two hands to calm Mel a little. “Scott and Stiles were in a place where they weren’t supposed to be when the incident occurred, still, I completely understand if you still want to kick his ass once we got everything back under control.”

Mel gives him a look that could eviscerate him on the spot and he flinches back a little in a reflex. It’s noticed by Hale, for the wolf’s eyebrows twitch just a little. And Mel too notices his discomfort and softens her gaze. 

“And pray tell, where were they when my son was attacked and turned?”

He shoots a look at his own son and nods to Mel. “Stiles.”

His son glares at him and can’t look at Melissa as he speaks. “We were looking for half a body in the woods.”

“Why would you-” Several emotions are visible on Mel’s face in a span of a few seconds. Shock, disbelief, and horror follow in rapid succession until she finally settles on a look between disgust and annoyance. She holds up a finger towards Stiles to prevent him from speaking “-No. No, sweetheart don’t answer that. Jesus Christ boys. Of all the things…”

“He was hunching over her body and something in me just-” Hale went quiet and looks down at his hands, frowning at the slightly sharpened nails. “I thought he was a hunter coming to collect his trophy.”

Mel slowly nods along, her hands balled at her sides. “You still bit my son, turned him.”

Peter nods his agreement and sighs. “You did punch me in the face for that.” He pauses and sighs, “And if you help me get my revenge, I’ll let you kick my ass when we’re done.”

Mel merely raises an eyebrow in return. “I’m not helping you with jack shit and I’m still going to kick your ass.”

At that Hale smirks, scoffing at the very idea. “We’ll see about that.”

“Right… well how about we actually try and solve something today because your disappearance just caused a whole lot more trouble. And I don’t know what you were doing with those papers but I don’t keep the Hale fire case files in my desk.” 

“Told you.” Stiles rolls his eyes towards Hale. 

Hale merely shoots a glare in the teen's direction and turns back to him and Mel. “Then what do you suggest? Because I’m not walking back into that hospital.”

He thinks on it for a minute or two. “No. You’re not. We’re gonna sell the story that woke up last night and escaped. This morning I received an anonymous tip about a man in a hospital gown and burns walking around the warehouse district. Due to who you are, and that you are linked to an arson case I picked you up and escorted you to a safe location where you are getting further treatment and stay under police protection. It might just be crazy enough of a story to buy us some time.”

“The Argents won’t fall for that, they’ll see right through it.” Mel pipes up.

“Then they’ll have to go through the sheriff of Beacon Hills to get their target. Now I don’t know about this hunting business, but I think they wouldn’t want that publicity.”

“At the very least,” Hale adds, “They’ll have to think things through for a few days. Might be just enough if we know where to start.”

-

He has Mel take Stiles to school shortly thereafter and lets her get some much-needed rest while he clues in the hospital. They have questions, of course. He manages to settle most of them and skirt over the rest enough for them to drop the issue for now. In the meantime, he keeps Hale in his office and collects the documents he needs from the archive to piece his case together.

He brings them back for Hale to shift through and puts the box down on his desk. “You said Kate Argent set the fire? Then walk me through it, Hale. What happened?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all enjoyed that and that it's alright, I really struggled with this chapter and to get it out due to the current real-life events playing out in The Netherlands. (Day long riots, a cabinet that disbanded, and general civil unrest for those that are wondering) It's been stressful and distracting and made writing difficult.  
> But I hope it's alright and that it's an interesting chapter nonetheless. 
> 
> Funnier moments will come next chapter. I would love to hear all of your thoughts. <3

**Author's Note:**

> So let me know what you think of my little Novella project here. Hope you enjoy it and if you did. Let me know by bookmarking, subscribing, giving kudos, sharing, or leaving a comment. Or maybe even a combo of any of those. Hope you enjoy!
> 
> Comments fuel the muse the most. <3


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